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Red Guard  Posts: 2402 Joined: 16 Dec 2007     | |
Web Developer  Posts: 1572 Joined: 5 Aug 2003    | Just so you know - we do browse your suggestions quite often and have implemented many of them, so please post your ideas/thoughts. Second, we are a US magazine, not Australian. Third, we do use a lot of Javascript/Ajax so if you do have JS disabled you probably won't get the full functionality of the site (which does have a lot of neat features). Finally, search improvements are high up on our list, so thanks for those suggestions - but that is in the works already. :D |
IT Director  Posts: 1375 Joined: 13 Jun 2002  | I'm going to break our own rules and reply to everything at once, but it's a lot easier for us all this way. All the search stuff is a big work in progress.
Post button now disables itself when you click it - hopefully this'll help.
This is a lose/lose decision either way. It was put in because not having it confused people, and we kept getting messages about it. We're going to err on the side of caution and keep it.
We're actually working on that. I only put in the ability to send 'system message' PMs very recently and haven't gotten all the stuff we want to do with it in yet.
Good idea - it'll take a bit of work, but I'll see what I can do.
Take a look at this (if you're logged in): http://www.escapistmagazine.com/profiles/posts?view=active
Never ever ever (sorry!). Mods and admins do try to clean up double posts when we see them though. I'd rather try to prevent them.
Done! Hit refresh a few times to make sure you have the latest JavaScript, and it'll just tack the quote on the end now.
Because using an [a] tag screws up all our name colors. The avatar pic is a direct profile link though.
We strip out errant angle brackets to make sure there's no way to put broken HTML into forum posts (and news posts and articles too, in fact - I'm all for protection from ourselves)
Possible, yes. Last time it came up we decided we don't want to do that though - just not our style.
Sadly, they aren't using any sort of automated account creation - it's real people doing that jackassery. |
IT Director Posts: 1375 Joined: 13 Jun 2002 |
User error on my part - I didn't set the E3 category to create comment threads. It's been fixed though.
Very unlikely, at least in the near term. While we are set up to have multiple themes per site, it's still a fair amount of work to create and maintain them, and we'd generally prefer to spend that time working on something else. |
Red Guard Posts: 2402 Joined: 16 Dec 2007 |
Moderators and Administrators can see actions taken against user accounts. If we open that up to everyone we're just allowing people to form an Authoritarian state where breaking the rules, even once, makes you a second class citizen. The current system shows why people have been banned for the term of the ban. This is to discourage the person in question from being an ass in the first place, but it also serves as a warning to other users. We have no plans to change this largely successful system. |
IT Director Posts: 1375 Joined: 13 Jun 2002 |
The offenses and punishments are in the forum guidelines. You noted that we don't actually list specifics - that's intentional. We don't want any rules-lawyering, and if someone can't bother to read the guidelines and understand what isn't allowed, we figure they can best contribute by being an example to others. |
Red Guard Posts: 2402 Joined: 16 Dec 2007 |
This thread is linked in the community map, easy to find if you know where to look. |
News Room Contributor  Posts: 3389 Joined: 21 Feb 2008    |
Do you know what would save us even more time? Just reporting trolls and moving on. |
News Room Contributor Posts: 3389 Joined: 21 Feb 2008 |
This is pretty much correct. The rule of thumb is be sensible with what you link to and you'll be ok. |
Web Developer Posts: 1572 Joined: 5 Aug 2003 |
The option for signatures is there for some of our sister sites (WarCry) who do allow signatures. Should we decide that we want to enable signatures on these forums, all we have to do is flip a switch - but right now the overwhelming decision has been no signatures on The Escapist. |
IT Director Posts: 1375 Joined: 13 Jun 2002 |
That's a cool idea, but unfortunately the forum indexes need to be cached in order to handle the amount of traffic they get, so changing them on a per-user basis isn't really possible. I'll think on it - maybe there's some way we can do something similar.
Can you give me steps to reproduce this? I tried every permutation of Yes and No in the forum option boxes and they always saved correctly.
Nothing here is stock - the forums, and everything else on our sites, is of our own design. :) |
News Room Contributor Posts: 3389 Joined: 21 Feb 2008 |
In such cases, you can PM the mods and ask the thread to be reopened. We might not do it, but we'll certainly consider it. |
IT Director Posts: 1375 Joined: 13 Jun 2002 |
That, on the other hand, is actually easy. And done! Go update your profile and your 10 most recent videos will be linked. |
Red Guard Posts: 2402 Joined: 16 Dec 2007 |
Get to know your mods: We're in the process of updating the guidelines, When we do, we will certainly make some changes to who is around. Yellow cards: Updates to the forum software made the yellow card/red card posts redundant. That doesn't mean we've changed the rules. The effects of probations and work the same as yellow/red cards. Troublemaking while on probation usually means a ban. Reporting: We do get some randomly reported posts. I've seen some very nominal things reported. If it doesn't break any rules then I clear it out of the queue and forget about it. Remember, reporting a post is anonymous. Report to your hearts content. |
IT Director Posts: 1375 Joined: 13 Jun 2002 |
The 'cards' might come back, once we have some time. They'll just be some extra style on the probation/bans though - those function as the technical equivalent of the original idea. |
Red Guard Posts: 3046 Joined: 27 Mar 2008     | The "probation" label appears right under the user name and is the same color as the staff user names. I find myself confusing people on probation for moderators all the time. Not exactly a big deal but, if you can get another color for it, I think that would be nice. -- Alex |
Red Guard Posts: 2402 Joined: 16 Dec 2007 |
It's true that some new users post without lurking, and don't know what the general guidelines for posting are. We have had very few real cases of anyone spamming the forums to the point that they are unreadable. I favour a 'new threads per hour' system to avoid people who want to kamakazi the forums before being permabanned by a moderator. To my knowledge it's never happened here at The Escapist, and only once at the other forum I moderated. Even if it does happen it's quite easy to fix with the delete button. |
IT Director Posts: 1375 Joined: 13 Jun 2002 |
This has been finished! The threads that you have actually read will now remember their own thread-level read status, and the forum index will display if there is a new post since the last time you read the thread. The 'new!' will jump to the first post made after the last time you read the thread. Threads that you haven't read will keep the same forum-level new flagging we've always had.
This is done, quotes will now link back to the quoted post.
Use Firefox [suggested] or IE7 Pro. Other browsers will have their own options. Spellcheck is really better off handled by the browser, and not forum software.
While I can add something like that, I don't really want to encourage people to use markup more than they already are. Making it too easy tends to result in even more garish posts. We also really prefer to have the post form as clean as possible. |
IT Director Posts: 1375 Joined: 13 Jun 2002 |
If you haven't noticed already, this is in too. There's a new Badges section of the user profiles.
I've never seen this happen before - what browser/OS are you using, and what (if any) plugins, add-ons, and/or security software are you running?
I'll add it to the list.
The tagging is case-sensitive in that the opening and closing tags need to match. Unfortunately this is a limitation with the PHP function we use in the string parsing - a case-insensitive version was added recently, but for now we're sticking with what we have in case we need to roll out the same code on a slightly older PHP install. |
IT Director Posts: 1375 Joined: 13 Jun 2002 |
This has been debated internally, but for now we'd prefer to keep the reports as simple as possible (if not even easier than they are now, I'll probably update them to do an AJAX report to get rid of the page load at some point). The moderators look at the post in context before deciding what to do with it anyway.
Locked threads do stop showing in the index after a certain period of time, but we leave them visible on purpose for a while so people can see that they're locked. It also serves as a reminder that Big Brother is Watching You.
Tagging works great in some situations, but I've found that the usefulness in most tends to be less than stellar. It's a problem with input - if you don't get enough, and the majority of it isn't of high enough quality, then the output is useless. Amazon is a nice example of this. It's hard enough to try to keep the staff using the tagging for content ;)
They already do this, once the number of pages go beyond a certain point. It's relatively rare for a thread to get that long though.
Added to the list!
Technologically it's a neat feature, but I think it's of relatively limited use since it's complex enough that only a very limited number of people would be able to use it effectively.
We lump all that with the general 'don't be a jerk' rule. It's a bit more vague, but it removes the debate of what is or isn't appropriate. We prefer the "I know it when I see it" theory. |
Gone Gonzo  Posts: 3479 Joined: 18 Dec 2007   |
They are disabled on this website. Warcry used to have them, they really don't suit the websites design. They look tacky and out of place. They are also easy ways for people to piss off other people. I'm sure there are other reasons too. |
Web Developer  Posts: 593 Joined: 6 Jun 2007  |
Under the "My Profile/Settings" section you should see a "Posts" tab that will have them all. Also, if you click on the red "new!" next to the thread, it will take you to the first of the new posts that were added after you last read the thread in question. However, it doesn't take into account that you might not have finished reading all of the 'old' posts, but it's still closer than working your way back from the last post. edit: Just noticed Virgil already said exactly the above regarding the 'jump to new post' feature, so perhaps you're looking for something different and I've missed it. |
Red Guard Posts: 2402 Joined: 16 Dec 2007 |
Often there is no "rule" to quote when threads are closed. Moderators use their good judgement in order to steer the forums away from low-content posts, rehashes of old threads, and inflammatory topics. These internal guidelines have been discussed amongst the staff and I think you'll be seeing some updated guidelines sometime sooner than later. For the record, we explain many closed posts, and the ones that aren't we feel are self-explanatory. However, if you have a question about a thread that has been locked, feel free to PM a moderator. They will clarify or point you to a moderator that can. |
SUSPENDED  Posts: 12958 Joined: 30 Jan 2008  | This is probably coming from technical ignorance, but is there any way to have a feature to check if any posts have been made since you started typing your reply without reloading the whole page? User was suspended for: Does New Korean Game Rip Off Team Fortress 2?. (7 days) |
News Room Contributor Posts: 3389 Joined: 21 Feb 2008 |
While I completely agree with you, there's not a great deal we, and by 'we' I mean the mods/staff, can do about it. |
News Room Contributor Posts: 3389 Joined: 21 Feb 2008 |
While I can't speak with 100% authority, I'm pretty certain that that's never going to happen. I'm as keen on good grammar and punctuation as the next person but the way to encourage a high level of discourse on the forums is not to have bands of roving nitpickers correcting every misplaced comma and apostrophe. Besides, how do people learn to use good grammar if someone comes along and fixes it for them? If you want a better class of forum, lead by example. Make interesting threads and posts, and don't post in the pointless ones, not even to tell them you've reported it or that it will swiftly be locked. Literally ignore them, let them sink down out of sight and people will soon get the idea. |
Red Guard Posts: 2402 Joined: 16 Dec 2007 | Ratings systems are hit and miss, sometimes they get people to contribute who wouldn't normally in hopes of getting an imaginary cookie. Other times, people just use them to punish their 'enemies' and boost their friend's egos. Ratings may be a good way of getting the community invested in itself. However, this does not solve any of the intrinsic issues inherent with internet anonymity. As nil said so well earlier in this thread; if you want to eliminate superfluous threads and bad behaviour we need the long term members to set a good example for new members and report the posts you think are adding to the static. There is no real defence aside from that. We can add a million new features, but it all comes down to the community not letting the voice of immaturity be louder than common sense, polite behaviour, and intelligent community. |
Red Guard Posts: 2402 Joined: 16 Dec 2007 |
You can report them, right? |
Red Guard Posts: 2402 Joined: 16 Dec 2007 |
I personally think it gives new users a bit of perspective to see the locked threads. A sort of proverbial head on a pike if you will. |
News Room Contributor Posts: 3389 Joined: 21 Feb 2008 |
It would depend on what you had done. However, people who the moderation team have had to take repeated action against, often end up with harsher punishments.
Probation essentially means that the mods are keeping an eye on you. It does mean that you can't get some of the matrix themed badges as well. |
IT Director Posts: 1375 Joined: 13 Jun 2002 |
Switch to the 'List' or 'Game Profiles' view and there's a delete option on the right. It should probably be added to their profile header too though (since you can add them through the header). I think I'll do that right now, actually. |
IT Director Posts: 1375 Joined: 13 Jun 2002 |
Yeah, I tracked that one down yesterday. Didn't think many people would notice, but I guess I was wrong ;) Also, if someone quotes you in a post, you get a PM now. Making the PM notification more obvious is still on the to-do list, as is allowing PMs to send you emails. |
IT Director Posts: 1375 Joined: 13 Jun 2002 |
There is already some CSS to prevent the worst visual attributes of quote walls - you may notice that after repeated nesting they start to fade out and/or disappear. Beyond that, it would be up to the moderators and peer pressure to regulate, not code - there are too many grey areas involved to put that sort of limit in. |
IT Director Posts: 1375 Joined: 13 Jun 2002 |
No plans for captions on videos - video is either self-explanatory, or needs a deeper description. You can use [left][/left] and [right][/right] to do the alignment though, just wrap them around the video tag. |
Gone Gonzo  Posts: 1913 Joined: 15 Jun 2008   | I've noticed a LOT of (no text) threads floating around. |
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Please read the whole thread, especially this post, before posting something new!
If what you're suggesting is on this list, or listed in this thread already, please don't post it again (unless you have additional information on a bug). You don't need to post support for an idea! If it's hanging out here, it'll be considered by the staff and implemented if we a) think it fits b) can and c) get time to do it. - Virgil
So you have a problem with some forum feature, or perhaps you have a suggestion on how to make the forums a better place for all? This is the place to post your concerns, complaints, and suggestions. This is not a place to post about moderator actions, those are still handled via private message, email, or the contact form. See the forum guidelines for the appropriate contact information.
If you have a technical issue please detail what version of windows or mac/lynix you are using and your web browser (including which version you have installed). If you can, provide a screen shot.
Issues with forum software
Forum search button only searches the body of the message, not the title.[Fixed!]The forum thread search is hard to find because it is not labelled as such.[Changed!]The user search button isn't labelled.[Changed!]Quote button doesn't quote text[Turn off noscript, or whitelist us]Editing posts with polls attached causes extra slashes.[Fixed!]Clicking on some people's avatars will redirect to the user search[Fixed!]User Suggestions
Make the inbox more obvious when you have new mail.[Done, will be rolled out soon]More/new user titles[New ones added!]PM Preview[Done!]User-level 'stickies'[Done!]The New Message box could expand if the content of your post gets longer[Done!]A forum-jumping dropdown.[Done!]Sinking threads.It's easy to double post, perhaps confirmation system would remedy this?[Fixed!]New users receive a "how to use the site" PM in their mailbox when they first join.[Done!]The "new!" tags on the forum indexes should link to the first new post for you.[Done!]A few users suggest a new tag for threads you've read and have changed since your last visit.[Done!]Clicking "quote text" could add text to the reply box without overwriting the message already in the box.[Done!]Quotes link back to the post they were quoted from[Done!]YouTube videos on profiles[Done!]A notification with a linkback when someone quotes you.[Done!]Report 'back to thread' link goes to first page.[Reports are now inline]On Reporting: Reports are anonymous. Accidental reports do not hurt anything, as it takes multiple reports to push a post into the moderation queue. Nothing happens automatically, the queue is just a list of posts for the moderators to look at. Please don't suggest ways to stop 'bad reports' - if it becomes a problem, the moderators and programmers will figure out a solution together. There is no problem with too many reported posts - if anything, the problem is that not enough posts are reported.
Things that won't happen
These are things that we're just not planning on doing. Either they're ideas that we've rejected because they don't fit our ideas for the site, or they're things that we don't feel are best solved in forum software (like spell-check, which the browser should handle, not us).
Moderator Issues
We want more descriptive guidelines.[They've been updated!]Because this thread is more of a tool for the site programmers and moderators and not a conversation, please try to avoid derailing the thread by starting up conversations in it. Also, don't be surprised if your post disappears once it has been resolved or added to the above list - it's nothing bad, we're trying to keep the thread shorter and easy to use.
Although we do clear out a lot of posts from this thread, we will try to keep all the staff responses (including the quoted text) as a reference.